Best lens to start with

J

james-bailey

Suspended / Banned
Messages
49
Name
James
Edit My Images
No
Hey all, im eagerly awaiting delivery of a second hand 40d body from a user on this forum and now looking to see what lenses are available...

As I dont know what exactly i'll be taking photos of most, I dont know exactly what will be good to start with.

Id say generally it will be for family and friends at events, and also a fair few scenery shots with a lot of depth, also sunset photos overlooking the lake.

Im willing to buy second hand and a budget of about 250-280 pounds.

Thanks in advance!

James
 
possibly a good set up would be a 28 -135 is usm lens going for around £190 used and £250 upwards new and poss a nifty 50 and a 18 -55 kit lens im sure you could pick up all 3 lenses for the £280 budget then you would have a good range of lenses thats what i am running and i seem to have a lens for most jobs but thats just my 2p
 
Hi
A lens always over looked and one i loved was the Canon EF 28-200 USM, sells for around £150-£200 great walk about lens 72mm filter size have that and a 50mm f1.8 about £70 for inside low light work, good starting combo.
 
Something like a Sigma 24-70 f2.8 might be worth considering.

Otherwise you can pick up an 18-55 or 18-55 IS kit lens for not much these days which gives a cheap and a bit plasticky but not as bad as everyone makes out lens.
 
andrewc said:
Something like a Sigma 24-70 f2.8 might be worth considering.

Otherwise you can pick up an 18-55 or 18-55 IS kit lens for not much these days which gives a cheap and a bit plasticky but not as bad as everyone makes out lens.
Click to expand...

i agree with the lens kit i used it for a wedding recently and got some real nice pics from it either though i picked the camera up twice for less than 5 mins each time the whole day ( i was best man so hardly chance to pick it up )
 
How about 18-55mm IS and 55-250mm IS - might be able to get both for the money?

Only down side would be nothing with a wide apperture - as said the 50mm f/1.8 might be worth a look if you like shallow DoF portraits.
 
Hi James,

Are you just getting the 40D body and no other lens - if so, worth looking at the 17-85IS lens, a generally good all rounder and giving you a reasonably wide spread of range.

The 28-135IS lens is a cracker and also worth a look as well as the 55-250IS :thumbs:
 
Thanks for your suggestions!

To be honest, the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM Lens Has taken my eye, with the IS and good zoom range without being too specific. I assume this is the kit lens that typically comes with a new 40d?

The f/4.0-5.6 part, does this mean in a nutshell that it isnt as good as some lenses in a lower light?

A nifty fifty, yeh I have seen that mentioned quite a bit, is that a 50mm lens with no zoom? What makes this worth having in a lens collection?

Sorry for all of the questions!

Thanks

James
 
james-bailey said:
The f/4.0-5.6 part, does this mean in a nutshell that it isnt as good as some lenses in a lower light?

A nifty fifty, yeh I have seen that mentioned quite a bit, is that a 50mm lens with no zoom? What makes this worth having in a lens collection?

Sorry for all of the questions!
Click to expand...

Yes

Usually a 50 has a good wide aperture so is very good in low light

A short range zoom is always a good start gives you versatility

don't be sorry for asking questions plenty of people here like to help :D
 
james-bailey said:
To be honest, the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM Lens Has taken my eye, with the IS and good zoom range without being too specific. I assume this is the kit lens that typically comes with a new 40d?
Click to expand...

As a general lens and with your budget, this is the lens I'd suggest. When I bought my 40D, I chose the kit which came with this particular lens because it covered decent focal range which was very usable as a general walkabout lens.
 
it is also quite a heavy lens which balances well with the weight of the 40d.
 
Poppycock - the Sigma 17-70 2.8-4.5 is sharp as a sharp thing and produces lovely images, and would go lovely with a 40D! The only slight downside is the lack of constant aperture, but it's still pretty good in low light!!
 
daugirdas said:
I'd avoid anything f/3.5-5.6 or f/4-5.6 and all Sigmas as a plague.
Click to expand...

Yeh I have noticed a lot of lenses that are f/3.5-5.6 or f/4-5.6 , what does this actually mean?

Im assuming that each figure corrosponds to either the 18-55, or 17-50 but what does it mean in plain english?
 
daugirdas said:
I'd avoid anything f/3.5-5.6 or f/4-5.6 and all Sigmas as a plague.
Click to expand...

Without an explanation as to why YOU would avoid these, it is a bit of a sweeping statement.

The Canon 28-135 IS f/3.5-5.6 is a good walkabout lens for me. It can be very sharp.

the code f/3.5-5.6 is an explanation of the maximum size of the aperture
where f is the focal length, and the aperture is often quoted as focal length/N

So the smaller N is, the more light (higher proportion) can get into the camera. This is good, if the light is a bit dull (the amount, not how interesting the scene is).

Many 'good' lenses (as in expensive) will have a constant aperture, i.e. f/2.8 or f/4. This means that whatever the amount the lens is zoomed out to, the ratio of light entering is easily understood by the photographer (zooming into a subject doesn't suddenly mean that the scene goes dark).
But, with a 'cheaper' lens (which doesn't necassarily mean it is no good), there can be a change in the aperture. So, 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 means:
at a focal length of 28mm, the aperture will be f/3.5 (28/3.5=8mm), and at a focal length of 135, the aperture will be 24mm. The last one means there is a bigger hole, but, because the focal length is larger, the proportion of light entering the sensor, will actually be less (as it is approximated as a surface of a sphere)

Ignore the last sentence if it is confusing, but the previous bits should help
 
Nifty Fifty regardless at £70 it's a blinding lens! Even if you keep it in your camera bag!

Have you thought about the 24-105 f4 Lens (costly though!)? Not sure on your budget it's price, I used my mates and it's a real nice lens!

Carl.
 
I have not long started in photography either and have purchased a nifty fifty and just received a 28-135 today! both good and I feel is enough alongside my 55-250 to cover most things I would be interested in. At the moment anyway :)
 
I always find a 50mm tight on a crop body. I guess I like to stand closer to people I'm photographing. What about a nifty 30/35mm?
 
As a Nikon user I don't really know the Canon lenses but going for a lens that starts at 28mm on a non full frame camera sounds restrictive. Such lenses do really suit people that spend a lot of time taking event/ portrait shots but I think most people would feel more at home with something wider.

28 is nice and wide on film/ full frame but 18 became the norm with the move to cropped digital. I'd want an 18-55 and a 55-200 or 70-200 (the 55-70 gap doesn't matter), with maybe a fast 35/1.8 prime thrown in -- in other words the kit lenses + a prime.

If you have more money to spend you can obviously get a /2.8 equivalent of one or both of the zooms, or get a 70-300 rather than ending at 200mm.
 
acs said:
As a Nikon user I don't really know the Canon lenses but going for a lens that starts at 28mm on a non full frame camera sounds restrictive.
Click to expand...

Maybe, but maybe not. I find it can be used OK with groups of 5 people etc. For a long time, I had the 18-55 kit (400d), the 28-135, and the 70-300, and I rarely used the 18-55. I think if the 28 had been that restrictive I would have noticed?
I recently challenged myself to only use the nifty fifty through a weekend at london. I swapped to the 28-135 twice I think.
 
Thanks for your input!

Its clear that theres so many on the market, and all have certain pros and conns. Without knowing exactly what i'll be snapping most, not easy to decide...

But think im gonna go for a
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM Lens
and see where I go. More than likely second hand so will be checking the Trade thread on here, which seems to work very well!

James
 
I smile when I watch blokes looking into photographers shop windows. Lumps of plastic and glass. " look at that one Joe, only 800 notes" I bet the missus could buy useful gear for the house at half the price. I only buy to spend the lolly. It`s a tossup what runs out first, me or my money. I know the money will last longest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top